It's entirely possible, of course, that we may never see a repeat of the 1990 Harp Lager FAI Cup when a non-league team battled all the way through to the final.

Still, it's easy enough to suspect sometimes that the repeated inclination of those in Merrion Square to make more of a lottery of the competition is somehow a manifestation of their dedication to the competition's potential for romance.

Not for the first time, the rules of the competition have been altered this year in order to cut down on the number of replays. A couple of years ago we had the remarkable scenario of away teams that had successfully held their own for 90 minutes in a first match being rewarded with extra time on the day. Now (and admittedly this isn't quite as astonishing) it has been decided that there will only be one replay. After that extra time and penalties, whatever it takes to get a result.

On the one hand the impact of this change is likely to benefit weaker teams who, having managed to stay level with their opponents through 210 minutes of play get a crack at earning a place in the next round by way of a penalty shoot out.

On the other the potential for ties like the one between Cork City and Shamrock Rovers, due to be decided at Turners Cross tomorrow afternoon, to generate the sort of interest levels which St Patrick's Athletic and Shelbourne produced a couple of seasons is severely limited.

That run of three games was probably the most memorable aspect of the entire season and yet it is apparently felt to be the sort of thing that shouldn't be allowed to happen again. Indeed, neither appears to be the sort of thing that should have prompted a change of the rules.

As it happens neither of the non league teams playing premier division opposition at the weekend needed any help from the lawmakers. There were no penalty shootouts required by Bluebell or Bangor Celtic, just below par performances by senior clubs who should have done better and a willingness on the part of the Dubliners to seize their opportunities.

The intermediate clubs deserve everything they get, although you really have to wonder about the fact that neither Sligo nor Drogheda could manage even a draw.

Up at United Park a couple of weeks ago for the Shelbourne game there was an article in the programme talking up the clubs hopes of a place in the quarterfinals of this year's competition.

On the basis that they had a non league club in the second round and, because eight of them were playing each other, they stood a decent enough chance of getting another in the third round. Funny how that sort of talk has a habit of landing people on their backsides.

Odd, too, that at a time when the National League is attempting to tighten up the image of the game by attempting to impose more stringent minimum standards on participating clubs that the decision is taken to permit junior clubs to enter the senior cup.

This year, because of the way the second round draw has gone we could, quite conceivably have a junior club in the quarterfinals, which actually says more about the rules of the competition than it does about the disparity between different levels of the game here.

Still, not much point in getting too worked up about it.

By the time next year's competition comes around it'll probably have all changed again anyway.